Charles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe

Charles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe

Coat of arms of Charles Bathurst.

Charles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe , GCMG , KBE , PC (born September 21, 1867 in London , † July 3, 1958 in Lydney , Gloucestershire) was a British politician of the Conservative Party and from 1930 to 1935 Governor General of New Zealand .

Early life

Bathurst received his education at the Sherborne School at Eton College and at the University College in Oxford , there he studied law and graduated in 1890 with a BA .

Member of Parliament

Bathurst worked as a barrister and conveyancer (lawyer specializing in real estate transactions). In the 1910 elections, he entered Parliament for the Conservative Party for the Wilton constituency of Wiltshire . There he acted as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food . In 1917 he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) and was admitted to the peerage as Baron Bledisloe , of Lydney in the County of Gloucester . His motto was "Tien ta foy".

He remained a member of parliament until 1928 and was parliamentary secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries from 1924 . From 1926 he was a member of the Privy Council .

Governor General of New Zealand

In 1928 Lord Bledisloe left Parliament and was made Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George . He was appointed Governor General of New Zealand . He had from 19 March 1930 to 15 March 1935 King this office V. Georg held.

Bledisloe was popular and respected in New Zealand. Most notably, his sense of social issues during the Great Depression was recognized. So he insisted that his salary be reduced when this was done with the salaries of civil servants.

Bledisloe also helped improve relations between European settlers ( Pākehā ) and the Māori . He used private funds to buy the land on which the Waitangi Treaty was signed and donated it to the nation as a memorial. In 1934 the area was placed under protection as a National Reserve . The ceremony held for the occasion attracted thousands of visitors - Māori and Pākehā. Bledisloe was interested in the memorial even after his return to England. Bledisloe also contributed to the recognition of the Māori King Movement and was friends with King Korokī Mahuta and the Māori leader and Princess Te Puea Herangi .

Bledisloe donated prizes for various occasions. The best known of these is the Bledisloe Cup , founded in 1931 and held annually to this day for the rugby union competition between New Zealand and Australia.

Next life

On his return to England in 1935 he was promoted to Viscount Bledisloe , of Lydney in the County of Gloucester. He has served on a number of committees and councils and has received honorary doctorates from the Universities of Bristol , Edinburgh and Oxford. He was a Fellow of University College Oxford .

Lord Bledisloe died in Lyndley on July 3, 1958, at the age of 90. The title of Viscount Bledisloe was inherited by his eldest son, Benjamin Ludlow Bathurst .

Bledisloe was a Freemason . During his tenure as Governor General he was 1930-1933 Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New Zealand.

Sports

When the Lydney Rugby Football Club was founded in 1888, Charles Bathurst was asked to chair it. He was president of the club for over 70 years until his death. He was succeeded by his son Benjamin Ludlow Bathurst. The Bledisloe Cup and the Bledisloe Park sports field are named after him.

Honors

• 1917 Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE)
• 1917 raised to baron
• 1926 member of the Privy Council
• 1928 Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (GCMG)
• 1935 Knight of the Order of Saint John (KStJ)
• 1935 Elevation to Viscount
• Honorary doctorates from the Universities of Bristol, Edinburgh and Oxford

Individual evidence

1. ^ Russell Marshall: Bledisloe, Charles Bathurst 1867-1958 . Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . As of June 22, 2007. Accessed November 11, 2010.
2. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from April 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

predecessor	Office	successor
Charles Fergusson, 7th Baronet	Governor of New Zealand 1930–1935	George Monckton-Arundell, 8th Viscount Galway
New title created	Viscount Bledisloe 1935-1958	Benjamin Ludlow Bathurst, 2nd Viscount Bledisloe